Postal
Even though Uwe Boll is pretty infamous, I must admit I'm not that knowledgeable about his work. What I do know is that he's mostly involved in bringing game adaptations to the silver screen. Considering BloodRayne, his only work I've watched so far, he is not doing a very good job. So I dropped Uwe Boll of my watch list, but then Postal came along, renewing my interest in his work.
Unlike many others, I'm not a Boll hater. The man makes films that are not my cup of tea, but from what I have seen so far he's pretty much aware of the fact he's not making any masterpieces. He also bears the title of worst director alive, but again I think that's pretty undeserved. I'll take Boll's cheap game adaptations over Eastwood's crafty but mind-blowingly dull and stuck-up dramas any time.
Boll is also famous for talking back to his critics, in one case challenging them to a fight in the ring. For Postal, he even published an open letter to let the world know that his next film would be something different (although still based on a game). So enter the new Boll, ready to kick everyone in the nuts and have a laugh at the expense of the world.
Even though Postal is based on the video game, the film is a lot more than just another game adaptation, borrowing just a couple of ideas and elements from the original (which is pretty free form to begin with). Boll uses this setup to make a movie that is part action and all comedy, mixing in whatever taboo he can find as to make fun of it in the most unsubtle and loosely connected way possible.
The result is a film with lots of dubious stuff, but being all the more funny because of it. There are some pretty spot on jokes and some passages that are awesome simply because you know some stuck up soccer moms will be passing out, foaming at the mouth. Boll never crosses any considerable lines and probably could've made it a little more challenging for himself (Bush and Osama are really easy targets to toy with) but he pulls it off with an applaudable lack of style.
The flow of the film is rather free form too, as many scenes (especially in the beginning) feel more like separate sketches than movie scenes. Later on this gets a little better although Postal is the kind of film that is not really bothered by such a flow. It's all about the comedy and the rudeness, not so much about quality film making.
It's good to see a fair amount of semi-famous actors taking the piss out of themselves too, Uwe Boll in front, dressed up as a tiroler German proclaiming his movies are funded by Nazi gold. This is the kind of film Postal wants to be, people expecting more of it will be greatly disappointed. That said, it's strangely funny that the final monologue, though a parody itself, still bears a little impact, probably because of all the weirdness the film holds. It's not as if great things are being said, but they come off as pretty relevant nonetheless.
Behind all this nonsense lies a pretty low-budget film that makes pretty good use of the money it has, never allowing it to become a real amateur piece of work. Uwe Boll delivers a film that is very aware of its strong points and exploits it to the point of pure mastery. It's rude, lacks subtlety, lacks any kind of serious attempt to tell a story, but remains funny throughout and elevates Boll above a whole range of mediocre Hollywood factory worker directors.